


Then Starve

by DaisyChainz



Series: Huxloween 2019 [4]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Eating, Gen, Gross, Humor, Knives, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-10-19 08:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20653997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisyChainz/pseuds/DaisyChainz
Summary: Hux and Ren are stranded in an alien environment with no supplies. Ren just wants something to eat.*Bonus: Hux sees Ren without his mask for the first time!





	Then Starve

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Huxloween!!
> 
> Day 4: Orchard

"Ren, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Our only other option is to starve, we don't have much choice."

"You can go more than one day without food, Ren. This isn't a wild forest, this is someone's orchard. Look how the trees are laid out."

If they could even really be called trees. Long pole-like trunks covered in a fine down ended in short blocky limbs, with a single brown fruit on the end. 

Ren shuffled up one of the trunks--more of a stalk really--in an effort to reach the fruit. 

"You don't even know if it's edible. It could be poisonous."

"Make up your mind Hux. Would someone plant a poisonous garden?"

"Actually yes. But it could be poisonous to our biology, if not theirs."

"Whatever, I'm hungry. Feel free to starve."

Ren reached the first fruit and tugged at it gently. It freed itself with a gentle pop and then disappeared into an unseen pocket. "They release easily, so they should be ripe."

Receiving gardening wisdom from a masked Kylo Ren, up a tree, seemed like an out-of-body experience. 

"By your limited knowledge.'

"No, it's pretty universal." He was able to reach two more fruits but the stubby limbs weren't strong enough to support his weight. He couldn't easily climb higher. 

Ren shimmied back down and put the fruit on the ground. Hux and Ren stared down at them for a long quiet moment.

Finally Hux looked up from where he was sitting and asked, "are you waiting for them to serve themselves?"

Ren didn't answer, but his posture was tense. Suddenly it dawned on Hux why. 

Ren had never been unmasked in front of Hux before. 

Hux shifted, suddenly as uncomfortable as Ren. He knew Ren wasn't allowed to show his face outside of the Order. He was fairly certain he had to wear the mask even to the general FO population. But Snoke had never expressly forbidden the General from seeing Ren's face, unless Ren had been informed and he hadn't. Which wouldn't have surprised him. 

Now Hux was uncertain. So many times he had wondered--he wasn't even certain Ren was human, although he was clearly humanoid. He had never even seen his bare hands. 

It could have been the perfect fodder for Hux to poke fun, or make Ren vulnerable. Force knew Ren had been disagreeable enough the last year and a half to deserve it. 

But now that he was faced with it . . . Hux shifted again, then finally spoke. "I can turn away, if you wish."

Ren didn't answer immediately. Then he raised his hands to the bottom of the mask. "No." And he clicked the mechanism that released him. 

Hux blinked twice at Ren's face. It was nothing as he had imagined. First of all, he was younger, even than Hux himself. And clearly human, even if his features were a bit unusual. He could even be considered attractive. Ren shook his head once and Hux felt immediate envy of his hair. 

Hux's hair always drew attention, but people tended to think it odd, there were even superstitions around his coloring.

But Ren's hair was black, and thick and curly from the humidity in his mask. It was simply beautiful.

Hux shook off those thoughts and glanced back at the fruit. "Well go ahead. This should be entertaining."

Ren glared at him, then sat nearby and picked up the first fruit. He bit the end of his glove and pulled it off his hand. Hux couldn't help staring again. His hand looked even bigger not encased in black. He had long graceful fingers, but his hand looked strong. He transferred the fruit to his freed hand. 

"This looks like a fairly thick skin." He dug a fingernail into it and nodded. Then he looked at Hux. "Give me your knife."

"Which one?"

"A smaller one, I'm not butchering meat here." He held out a hand expectantly. 

Hux eyed the extended hand for a moment, then sighed and dug into a jacket pocket. "You'll clean that before you give it back." He handed it over. 

Ren expertly ran the edge of the knife around the fruit, then split it open in his hands. The inside was a mild yellow color, with brown seeds that matched the skin. Ren licked one of the halves, smacking his lips as he assessed the flavor. Shrugging he took a bite of the yellow flesh. 

He offered the other half to Hux. "It has an odd, meaty flavor. But it's not bad." Hux shook his head. 

Ren had finished the first and picked up the second to open it when suddenly the world turned upside down. 

Literally. 

Before either could react something grabbed each by the middle and shook them upside down. 

Unable to breathe in the tight grip and completely discombobulated, it took Hux's brain a moment to catch up. 

Finally he was able to sort out that a blobby creature whose head and trunk were mostly it's mouth, had each of them in a long limb. The world blurred as it shook them heartily and roared. From what little Hux was able to see, the mouth was full of teeth and large enough to simply drop one of them in. 

"Your lightsaber!" Hux managed to yell, even as his teeth shook from the abuse. 

"Can't get to it!" Ren yelled back, voice in the same state. 

Then Hux saw Ren raise his arm and remembered he still had the knife. He didn't know if it was large enough to do any damage, but he held his breath as Ren dropped his arm against the creature's hand. 

Nothing happened. 

Ren did it again. Then he kept doing it. Over and over he drove the small knife into their captor's flesh. 

Hux watched the creature, it shook them but this time it seemed more confused than angry. Finally it let out another roar and flung Ren from its grip. 

As he watched Ren fly through the air like a child's toy it dawned on Hux how many more ways this could go sideways. If Ren was injured or killed Hux was done for. The only knife he had access to was the one in his sleeve. Deadly, yes. But more likely to avenge him than rescue him. 

Hux prepared to release the blade as the creature began to recover and return it's attention to him. 

Then he heard the well-known sound of a lightsaber being ignited. Hux had never thought he would be happy to hear that sound. He looked back to the ground and saw Ren crouching, saber held in front of him. He ducked the long limb swinging for him, then stepped under the creature's belly and opened it up with a long sideways stroke.

Hux cried out at the creature's spasmodic grip on him. He could hear it's insides sqwelching as they left it's body. The grip loosened and Hux fell to the ground as the creature did. 

He checked himself over for injuries, nothing seemed broken. No lacerations. He stood shakily and tried to take a deep breath. He ended up with a wracking cough, but afterwards felt clearer and a little stronger. 

He looked up to see Ren wiping his knife off on his robes. He held it back out to Hux. 

Hux took it slowly and returned it to his coat. 

With a reverse buzzing sound he powered down the lightsaber. 

"Guess we do have something to butcher. Have you got any appropriate knives for that? I'd rather not use my 'saber."

"My knives are weapons, not kitchen ware. You don't even know if that is edible."

"Feel free to starve."


End file.
